FORGE Beta Impressions

Zealots and Devourers are at war. It’s a battle to the death, it’s a war of attrition – and you can join their forces in the upcoming PvP-only game from Dark Vale Games titled FORGE.

You’ve seen the news, the screenshots, and the videos. What’s to like about FORGE? Quite a lot actually. The solid gameplay, the gorgeous but grim art style, the fantastic combat. It does cost money to own and play the game, but it’s up to you how much you want to pay towards it. The lowest of entry fees while it’s still in pre-release is $20, which seems a perfect price point. There are higher tiers and packs to get you and your friends in on the game.

FORGE is a dark, grim world that has death lurking around the corner with feverish, frantic combat. Along with it being dim, is that it’s actually pretty difficult getting out of your home base. There’s nothing in-game to guide you, which is perfectly fine if you know the maps. Perhaps environmental lighting could do better to lead the way as they bases are pretty complex multi-level areas. Maps themselves are symmetrical for when it comes to the objective modes like Capture the Flag. Each map is quite large with both indoor and outdoor areas, across the 4 maps making them distinct from one another.

There are 5 playable classes: Assassin, Pyromancer, Shaman, Warrior, and Pathfinder. As you could probably gather what each class does and doesn’t do – I’ll tell you the basics. The Assassin is the fastest class and is good for capturing objectives as well as up close and personal kills. The Pyromancer class is good for area damage and throwing up a firewall to prevent forward moving players. The Shaman is the healer and is what makes the team successful in any push for an objective. Warrior is the basic melee class that tanks in and does all the damage to distract everyone. Lastly, is the ranged class – the Pathfinder, who will use a bow and arrow to take down foes from a large distance. The Pathfinder can also disguise themselves when needed. Each class is so widely different with it’s own advantages and disadvantages, it makes the teamwork aspect vital.

Abilities play a significant role here too, with a row of abilities to choose from. The abilities are all unlocked and have individual cooldowns, some abilities take longer to come off of a cooldown or prevent other abilities from being deployed. It’s not a hotkey-mashing game. It certainly requires skill, and while your first few matches may not be winners, you’ll learn a lot and know when to attack and when to pull back and prevent your deaths. The direct action of the game makes it feel like you’re an active participant in the combat, rather than a spectator. FORGE isn’t without bugs, but they are very minor and expected when playing a Beta. It’s entirely serviceable and absolutely gorgeous.

FORGE is actually incredibly well-polished, balanced, and accessible. There are future updates coming to give a Tutorial area to help new players, social functions such as Friends, Groups, and Guilds. Dark Vale Games is dedicated to improving the game all the way up to and beyond the release. I’m confident in suggesting this is a game to watch if you need pure PvP action without any PvE fluff. The game is coming to Steam via the Greenlight program and will make it easiser to purchase and play the game.

Need to play the game for yourself? If you register, you can see payment options and get 14-days free of Beta access: http://www.playforgewar.com/